


The Year That Changed Mary Shannon's Life

by A Magiluna Stormwriter (ariestess)



Category: In Plain Sight
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-08
Updated: 2011-08-08
Packaged: 2017-10-22 10:23:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/237072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariestess/pseuds/A%20Magiluna%20Stormwriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>50 sentences detailing the year that changed Mary Shannon's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Year That Changed Mary Shannon's Life

**Author's Note:**

> Date Written: 7-8 August 2011  
> Written for: [](http://1sentencefic.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**1sentencefic**](http://1sentencefic.dreamwidth.org/)  
>  Character: Mary Shannon  
> Theme: Table 4  
> Summary: 50 sentences detailing the year that changed Mary Shannon's life.  
> Spoilers: Everything up through 04x13 "Something Borrowed, Something Blew Up", but it takes an AU turn somewhere between 04x10 "Girls, Interrupted" and 04x12 "Womb With a View"  
> Warnings: n/a  
> Archive: This is a ShatterStorm Productions exclusive piece. Contact the webmistress for archive options.  
> Link to: <http://f-n-c.shatterstorm.net/>  
> Website: ShatterStorm Productions' Frisked & Conquered
> 
> Disclaimer: "In Plain Sight", the characters and situations depicted are the property of USA Network, Universal Media Studios, and Universal Studios Home Entertainment. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. This site is in no way affiliated with "In Plain Sight", its owners, or any representatives of the actors.
> 
> Note: I signed up for this back in January 2011 and then quite honestly forgot about it for quite a while. And then I got a weird creative funk for quite a while. And then this new season of IPS really started to click with the whole Mary situation [not giving any spoilers here, but if you haven't seen this season, you may want to skip this fic]. I have now seen the entire fourth season, cliffhanger and all, and I can happily say that I am AUing this bitch like whoa!
> 
> Dedication: My muses, for always coming through in the end…
> 
> Beta: Not yet, so all mistakes are mine until someone in my beta team takes a look at it.

*01. Tea :: Never once in her life did she expect to be drinking some stupid herbal tea instead of her beloved coffee, but getting knocked up kind of necessitated that.

*02. Forgiveness :: That wounded look in Eleanor's eyes upon seeing her large with pregnancy drove a sharp spike right through Mary's overly-sensitive heart.

*03. Hurt :: "I'm sorry, Eleanor, but I didn't know _how_ to tell you," Mary whispered, not wanting Marshall or Stan to know even more of her personal life than they already did.

*04. Time :: If it meant bringing Eleanor back from wherever she'd gone off to, Mary would have gotten herself knocked up a couple of years ago.

*05. Silence :: The longer Eleanor stared at her, the more Mary wanted to run screaming from the room.

*06. Flower :: _Give her carnations_ , the note said in Marshall's distinctive scrawl, _unless you can afford roses, which would be better._

*07. Touch :: Finally taking a chance, Mary reached out to press Eleanor's hand to her stomach, willing the baby to kick again.

*08. Sex :: "I was in a weird place and I just fell into bed with him, but it didn't mean anything, I swear."

*09. Envy :: If she didn't know any better, Mary would have sworn Eleanor's eyes looked green in the face of her explanation about the pregnancy.

*10. Fire :: "Well, it's not like we were exclusive or anything," Eleanor hissed, yanking her hand away from Mary's.

*11. After :: For the first time in this entire pregnancy, Mary felt exhausted enough to collapse after Eleanor left the office.

*12. Share :: The text message read :: _Have dinner with me and let me explain?_

*13. Kiss :: She fought the urge to just fall into Eleanor's arms and never let her go, settling instead for a chaste peck on the cheek before the woman left.

*14. Thoughts :: Mary couldn't sleep that night, their conversation running on an eternal replay loop in her mind.

*15. Mine :: Could she possibly still lay any claim to Eleanor after all this time?

*16. Lecture :: She kept waiting for The Talk, but when it never came after a week, she started to relax infinitesimally.

*17. Gentle :: Eleanor's fingers carded through her hair, an attempt to soothe the crying jag that overwhelmed her.

*18. Lust :: Even if she somehow agreed to have a dozen more kids, Mary would never get over the way her body could go from nauseous to horny in the blink of an eye.

*19. Hollow :: In the middle of the night, Mary awoke to a sharp kick to her diaphragm, but fell back asleep with Eleanor's head tucked up under her chin.

*20. Forever :: "Thirty-four weeks is close enough to forty, isn't it?" Mary asked, rubbing at her lower back.

*21. Breeze :: The heat of Albuquerque never bothered her nearly as badly as it did during this never-ending pregnancy.

*22. Dark :: It was only in talking with Eleanor that Mary even bothered to consider what characteristics she and Mark would give the baby.

*23. Hostile :: "I don't care if he's the father of this baby," Eleanor growled, "I'll hurt him if he comes near you."

*24. Open :: Thankfully Eleanor didn't publicly attack Mark, who wisely chose to steer clear of Mary at the party after finding out she was pregnant in the first place.

*25. Shelter :: Despite the weather being cooler than normal, Mary preferred the quiet sanctity of her house for the evening.

*26. You :: "Mark has rights to see this baby, Mary, but on _your_ terms, not his."

*27. Fall :: Mary eased back onto the couch, fighting frustrated tears, as Eleanor found an ice pack for her ankle.

*28. Summer :: "If I ever decide to get pregnant again, make sure I conceive so that I’m not giving birth in this damned heat, okay?"

*29. Candy :: "I am not going to encourage stripper names by naming this baby Candice if it's a girl."

*30. Sulk :: She hated fighting with Eleanor, but she hated apologizing even more.

*31. Wedding :: It may have been Brandy's day, but Eleanor only had eyes for the heavily pregnant maid of honor.

*32. Vows :: It didn't matter than no one else had heard them; Mary would never forget Eleanor's heartfelt words that night.

*33. Tears :: Despite the pain, despite the indignity of it all, Mary refused to shed a single tear… until she heard her baby's first cry.

*34. Family :: Eleanor understood Mary's initial desire to give the baby up for adoption, but was more than thrilled that she decided against that option in the end.

*35. Future :: Knowing he'd probably change his mind down the line, Mary was glad that Mark was being so good about child support and visitations.

*36. Spring :: Every single time that Tanya cried, Mary shot out of bed like her life depended on it.

*37. Water :: That first shower at home after she'd given birth to Tanya was the best shower she'd had since finding out she was pregnant.

*38. Satiate :: "Dear God, is she ever going to _not_ be hungry?" Mary complained as her daughter latched onto a nipple with gusto.

*39. Snow :: "She's not going to appreciate a trip to the mountains until she's old enough to play in the snow, Eleanor," Mary complained.

*40. Stress :: No matter what kind of day she had, Mary knew that the only relaxation technique she needed was to hold Tanya as she slept.

*41. Pen :: Taking a deep breath, Mark signed the papers to give up parental rights to his daughter.

*42. Reflection :: Only in the darkest hours of night, when Tanya was tucked into her crib and Eleanor snored softly in their bed, did Mary know that

*43. Innocence :: "Is it wrong that I don't want her to ever grow up?" Mary asked, stroking her daughter's cheek.

*44. Protect :: "Mary, you cannot threaten anyone who comes to date Tanya with your gun."

*45. Happiness :: Though she'd never admit it publicly, Mary realized that Tanya's giggles made her happier than she'd never been in her life.

*46. Shower :: ""Oh, come on, Eleanor, she's not going to melt from a little sprinkling of rain!"

*47. Concern :: Mary knew that if Eleanor wasn't worried about Tanya's slight fever, she didn't need to be either.

*48. Story :: If she had to look at _Goodnight Moon_ one more time, Mary swore she'd throw up.

*49. Listen :: In the silence of their embrace, Eleanor heard Mary's unspoken love loud and clear.

*50. Shout :: "Don't these little gangbanger wannabes understand that they're keeping our daughter from her nap?"


End file.
